Top 5 Things to Do in and near Rensselaer, IN

 I'm trying to catch up on some blog posts before we enter 2022.

Over Memorial Day weekend the kids and I traveled to Rensselaer, Indiana to celebrate family. This is not a place many people go to visit, so I wasn't sure what we'd do (besides visiting family) to keep us entertained. Turns out I was able to come up with a Top 5!

1. Fair Oaks Farms is only a 15-minute drive. Its main focus is on doing Agriculture education and outreach in a really fun way. It has a Dairy Adventure, Pig Barn, Crops Area, plus a great restaurant, cowfe, and store. 

Being located not far from Chicago, it's an interesting contrast from city life to agricultural live. 

I've been to the Dairy Adventure before, so wanted to concentrate on the pig barn, especially with Desert Girl taking a pig to the county fair. The building lets you touch-or ride-a fake pig, but to make sure that germs aren't introduced to the pigs, we saw the real ones from behind glass.

These baby pigs were adorable.

It was interesting to see how they raised pigs in a commercial operation. It was very different than our backyard pig operation.

The science was emphasized with lots of interactive exhibits, like giving a pig an ultrasound to see if she's pregnant.

We could look into several areas of the pig barn, which are different depending on the pigs' age.

One of the reasons pigs are popular to raise is that they gain weight so quickly.

We also really enjoyed the pig high ropes course (which has nothing to do with pigs, but was fun nonetheless). 

In fact, I'm not sure if the kids or I enjoyed it more! I met some friends at the delicious restaurant while the rest of the family went on to the Dairy Barn and had a great time.

2. Murals. Rensselaer has a wonderful variety of murals that I first learned about from this blog. I visited quite a few of them with some friends.

Murals you can pose by are a lot of fun!

You can find a map and more info about the artists on the RenArtWalk website.

3. Carpenter Creek Cellars Winery. This delightful winery is only about a 10-minute drive from Rensselaer. It opened in 2013 and offers a variety of wines. They also have some cheeses and crackers and a lovely outdoor spot that's perfect for visiting (during the warmer months). They also have an indoor area if the weather isn't conducive to chilling outside.

I didn't take many photos, I was just enjoying the experience so much!

4. Indiana Beach. This small amusement park has lots of fun activities. It's about a 35-minute drive from Rensselaer. The kids were so excited to go ride some rides.

I even made it on the roller coaster. Next to a nephew who kept saying, "I'm going to puke, I'm going to puke." Fortunately, he didn't, but it made the ride extra exciting wondering what would happen.

I made sure to stay off spinny rides. I used to be able to do those just fine!

It was a cool day, so we didn't go swimming. But we did observe the gross carp in the water. I have vivid memories of seeing them decades ago!

5. Rensselaer Parks. There are several nice parks in Rensselaer. We went to Brookside Park and enjoyed the playground, shelter, and disc golf course. Having nice parks adds so much to a community.

Well, there you have it. If you've ever been to Rensselaer, do you agree with my top 5 list? What would you add, delete, or change?

National Finals Rodeo

Baker Ranches Mountain Valley Hay goes to lots of places. It gets trucked to dairy farms in California, Olympic horses in Florida, Cal-Ranch stores across the Southwest, and the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

Hay comes in different varieties. A lot of it is alfalfa hay. Alfalfa is a perennial crop that we usually harvest four times a year. Every few years it needs to be switched out with a different crop to keep the soil healthy. We also grow orchard grass, oat, and small grains hay. 

Bales come in different sizes. The bale in the photo below weighs 1,400 pounds. Heavy equipment is needed to move it. Some folks, particularly horse owners, want smaller bales, so we do a lot of 100-pound bales (3-string) and 60-pound (2-string) bales

This hay is tasty. Even the deer agree. :)

For quite a few years, Baker Ranches has provided National Finals Rodeo (NFR) with the hay for the animals there. NFR takes place in early December and is 10 days long. The top 15 competitors in the world in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, barrel racing, steer tying, and bull riding come and do their event every night for 10 nights. The top 6 get money every night, and they keep an overall standings. 

This is a sport that requires a lot of animals, and those animals get hungry. Baker Ranches takes about 85 tons of hay to the NFR each year. This amounts to about 4 truckloads, but usually there's an extra truck load to get the squeeze (equipment to unload hay) down there plus sometimes an emergency load.

I've never been a rodeo groupie, but I do enjoy going to the rodeo. (Here's a post from a 2010 rodeo my nephew was in.) We even had our kids compete in Mutton Bustin' and Calf Riding one year. That convinced them that rodeo was not their future.

This past summer, we went to the Ute Stampede Rodeo in Nephi, Utah, and I really enjoyed it (and apparently didn't get around to blogging about it). I mentioned to my husband that I wouldn't mind going to the NFR.

Well, we had the opportunity to go, so we jumped on it. It was a fun experience!

We had a nearby hotel so we walked to the Thomas Mackey Stadium, but we ended up at a side entrance and got to go past lots and lots of horse stalls. Eventually we found the front and were able to pick up our tickets at Will Call.

Then we went inside, and it was packed with people getting souvenirs and eating and drinking. We found our seats, nice ones on the second row of the balcony.

The evening officially started with an invocation and the national anthem.

Then there were fireworks.

And a parade of athletes. Texas and Oklahoma had especially big contingents. Canada has quite a few, and there's even one from Brazil.

Then it was on to the events, with Bareback Riding first. I was impressed by how streamlined everything was. They got the athletes out quickly.

Then it was time for steer wrestling. The chute was on our end of the arena.

Then came team roping.

And saddle bronc. 

The Wrights from Milford, UT, not too far from where we live, have really made a name for themselves with saddle bronc riding, with several world champions. 

The big screen showed some of the preparations.

Then it was time to go! We also saw Stetson Wright do bull riding at the end.

Then it was time for brother Ryder Wright from nearby Beaver, UT.

The Calf Tying went off without a hitch (lol, sorry, I had to be corny with a pun). 

Next it was time to prep for the barrel racing, so why not make a production of it! The arena is now mostly full, a contrast from when the rodeo started.

Desert Girl loves horses and competed in barrel racing at her 4-H horsemanship contest, so was particularly interested.

These riders are so good.

The final event was bull riding. Unlike the other events, when most everyone succeeded in their events, bull riding only had a handful manage a successful ride. 

It's kind of terrifying to watch.

What an evening! We had a terrific time.

Later I learned that there are lots of viewing parties at the casinos, with thousands more watching. Plus the rodeo goes out over the Cowboy Channel where so many more watch it. 

We've caught some of the highlights on YouTube. I don't think this will be the last of our rodeos, it's a strangely compelling sport to watch, even if you don't do it yourself and never will. 

Some Book Recommendations

 

I love books. I don't have a lot of free time, but I make time to read--or more often to listen. I absolutely love the app Overdrive, where I can check books out for free. I also periodically subscribe to Audible to get the books I can't get on Overdrive.

I suggested Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey to my library on Overdrive, which meant I was #1 on the list to listen to it. Fun!  It was an enjoyable memoir with some good life lessons.

I've been in Toastmasters this last year, improving my communication and leadership skills. One of the things I've learned is that if you can make your speech into a story, people will listen. There were more great hints in The Storyteller's Secret by Carmine Gallo.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel is a dystopian romp in the Midwest, where a band of musicians and actors travel through the new world. I thought it was quite optimistic that there would be sufficient free time to have music and acting, which is kind of refreshing for a dystopian novel.

Our friend Paul Dye wrote a marvelous memoir, Shuttle, Houston, about his days in the Mission Control for NASA. Here's a great way to get behind the scenes. 

Sticking with the space theme, Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary was an awesome listen on spring break, the whole family got into it. Our son is considering being a science teacher as a possible career path, and I can't help but wonder if this book helped inspire that thought.

Becoming by Michelle Obama flowed so well. She really opened the doors to behind-the-scenes of her life, from growing up on the south side of Chicago to becoming a lawyer, meeting Barack, and becoming First Lady.

I saw Grit by Angela Duckworth recommended by skier Lindsay Vonn, and it is great. The premise is that talent is overrated, what really matters is passion and effort. Most people don't want to put in the effort though, and some can't find their passion, so we sit on the couch and admire the talented and say they can just naturally do it, not really knowing how they got to where they are.

Sometimes I just need a fun novel, and I've liked a past book by Bill Clinton and James Patterson. The President's Daughter is a fun thriller, predictable but enjoyable.

Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin intersperses stories of war with leadership lessons. Most of the lessons aren't new (keep it simple, communicate well), but are told in an engaging way and are good reminders.

Kim and Penn Holderness have fun Internet videos where they make fun of various things, and their audiobook was enjoyable to listen to. Everybody Fights is a guide to healthy married relationships and has some good points.

Escape by Carolyn Jessop is a chilling memoir of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints community she grew up in and eventually escaped with her eight children. It's hard to believe that this way of life exists in the U.S. There are quite a few polygamists who live within a few hours of us, and I certainly hope their life is a LOT better than what she portrays.

Educated by Tara Westover is a memoir about another disturbing childhood and coming to age story, this one taking place in nearby Idaho and Utah. Again, seeing how people live such dysfunctional lives, and for Tara, finding a way out, is eye-opening.

I've been doing the Bible in a Year podcast, which follows the Great Adventure Timeline for the Bible. Catholic Bible Chronicles is a kids' version aimed at ages 8-12 which helps gives more in-depth than basic kids' bible stories but isn't so overwhelming that the Bible seems inaccessible. The illustrations are beautiful.

Do you have a train lover in your life? Or maybe a maze lover? My dad makes a series of maze books, which are really creative. Casey Loves Trains by Robert Schenk is great.

I've been trying to do daily reflections about Mary. This book has been great, 365 Mary by Woodeene Koenig-Bricker.

My friend Marielle Pariseau wrote this delightful book, Billy Braveheart, based on actual events in her Canadian house. 

Desert Boy recommended Ashfall by Mike Mullin, the first book of a dystopian trilogy that takes place after Yellowstone blows. The main characters are teenagers. The books are fast-paced and full of a world I wouldn't want to live in!

I've had to check out this audiobook three times (and need one more time) to get through the 32-hour audiobook. A Promised Land by Barack Obama gives an interesting, detailed inside look into campaigning and getting into the White House. 

Aquanaut by Rick Stanton is a fascinating look into the Thai cave rescue. Rick Stanton was the cave diver who found the boys, and this book alternates between how he learned to cave dive and get to the highly technical level that allowed him to get to the boys and the actual rescue. Listening to the description of diving in water with zero visibility against the current in small cave passages made me squirm. It's truly a miracle that this rescue was pulled off.

We really enjoyed the PBS series All Creatures Great and Small so also ordered the book series and got the audiobook version, which is fantastic for car rides. James Herriot sure brings to life what being a vet was like in rural Great Britain. 

What are your favorite books from this year? I'm always looking for recommendations!